Germany has used forensic technology to recreate some of the most distant members of the human evolutionary ‘family’ – ancestors stretching back seven million years, An exhibition in Dresden.

Forensic anthropologists used computer-assisted techniques to reconstruct human remains – and the near-complete skulls of ancestors such as  Sahelanthropus tchadensis have allowed researchers to reconstruct lifelike faces of what out ancestors might have looked like.

The 27 model heads were created using fossil remains, and includes a glimpse of sahelanthropus tchadensis, an ancestor dated to about seven million years ago, when our ‘hominid ‘ancestors’ first originated in Africa.

'Using forensic anthropological methods, the various hominids were recreated not as characteristic ideals, but as individuals,' says the museum. 'Each one tells its own story: where they lived, what they ate, their likely cause of death and much more.'Some of the oldest spears ever found are also on display - dating back 400,000 years.

The museum says, There is little doubt that Africa is the cradle of humanity: this is where the most ancient remains of our ancestors were unearthed,

The exhibition introduces the excavation sites in Africa where scientists are conducting research into the origins of mankind. Every step is clearly explained in the scientic process. showing exactly how conclusions are reached.'